Hi Everyone;
This is Patty and I have been RVing for 6 years now. Just about everything I now know about RVing I learned the hard way! I can look back now and laugh, but believe me it wasn’t funny at the time!
When I started RVing I was a 50 something year old widow, alone and desperate to fulfill my dream of travel, kayaking and bicycling. Being from Old School “I Am Women, Hear Me Roar”, I would not let anything/anybody stand in my way! I am going to tell about my experiences in the hope that all of you can learn and/or have a good laugh!
This is Patty and I have been RVing for 6 years now. Just about everything I now know about RVing I learned the hard way! I can look back now and laugh, but believe me it wasn’t funny at the time!
When I started RVing I was a 50 something year old widow, alone and desperate to fulfill my dream of travel, kayaking and bicycling. Being from Old School “I Am Women, Hear Me Roar”, I would not let anything/anybody stand in my way! I am going to tell about my experiences in the hope that all of you can learn and/or have a good laugh!
BEWITCHING OF A HITCHING (4th Blog)
Posted 07-08-2019 at 10:00 AM by Patty1161
As all good things must come to an end, on day five, we had to check out of our campsite by noon. I had everything packed up by 10am and all that was left to do was hitch up. Easier said than done! No matter what I tried, the coupler latch would not engage.
After sometime, I asked the next door RV camper if he could help me. The gentlemen tried over and over. While scratching his head, he stated that he had been RVing for years and had never seen a problem like this! While we both continued to struggle with the hitch, my sister stood there wringing her hands and reminding me that the noon checkout was fast approaching.
An elderly man who had been walking by with a cane stopped and asked if he could help. He stated that he had been camping for 25 years and was no stranger to hitching up. I quickly agreed to his offer of help. He came over and began instructing all of us as to different hitching methods to try. Needless to say, none of them worked. The elderly man then knelt down to look underneath the coupler and confirmed what we already knew, “Nope it is not coupling”! After we helped him up, he proceeded to beat on the coupler latch with his cane. As I attempted to stop him, a third man approached and after listening to all the things we tried, he turned to me and asked if I had a jack. I quickly got it out of my truck while wondering what I had gotten myself into. He proceeded to jack up the ball hitch on my truck into the coupler. Suddenly the coupler clamped and the coupler latch slid into place. We all started clapping and yelling “Yeah”! Needless to say and after many “Hail Marys”, my sister and I made it home safe and sound that day. Even through it all, I just couldn’t wait for my next RVing experience.
LESSON LEARNED
The man explained that since my truck was on an incline, the hitch ball could not completely engage with the coupler to allow it to latch. By jacking up the ball, it allowed it to make complete contact with the coupler to engage. Hence, I now have a fear of a camping on any site that is downhill and try to avoid that scenario at all times.
After sometime, I asked the next door RV camper if he could help me. The gentlemen tried over and over. While scratching his head, he stated that he had been RVing for years and had never seen a problem like this! While we both continued to struggle with the hitch, my sister stood there wringing her hands and reminding me that the noon checkout was fast approaching.
An elderly man who had been walking by with a cane stopped and asked if he could help. He stated that he had been camping for 25 years and was no stranger to hitching up. I quickly agreed to his offer of help. He came over and began instructing all of us as to different hitching methods to try. Needless to say, none of them worked. The elderly man then knelt down to look underneath the coupler and confirmed what we already knew, “Nope it is not coupling”! After we helped him up, he proceeded to beat on the coupler latch with his cane. As I attempted to stop him, a third man approached and after listening to all the things we tried, he turned to me and asked if I had a jack. I quickly got it out of my truck while wondering what I had gotten myself into. He proceeded to jack up the ball hitch on my truck into the coupler. Suddenly the coupler clamped and the coupler latch slid into place. We all started clapping and yelling “Yeah”! Needless to say and after many “Hail Marys”, my sister and I made it home safe and sound that day. Even through it all, I just couldn’t wait for my next RVing experience.
LESSON LEARNED
The man explained that since my truck was on an incline, the hitch ball could not completely engage with the coupler to allow it to latch. By jacking up the ball, it allowed it to make complete contact with the coupler to engage. Hence, I now have a fear of a camping on any site that is downhill and try to avoid that scenario at all times.
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